


Past Present

by Extras0fts



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Amnesia, Angst, Ashton does jazz band, Bullying, Calum does football, Calum is a jerk in the beginning but he's chill I swear, Car Accidents, Dreams, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Football | Soccer, Luke is a drama queen, M/M, Michael is just there, Minor Character Death, Theatre, and does theatre, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-26 05:05:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7561546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Extras0fts/pseuds/Extras0fts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The past is never where you think you left it.</p><p> </p><p>Or where Michael keeps getting dreams about the past while trying to take on the present</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

This is a strange feeling.

His eyes are closed, is he dreaming?

He can't be. He can smell the ocean. He can feel the wind brushing against his skin. He can hear someone... something... calling out.

"Hurry up! Come on!" A voice called out as Michael felt a hand tug on his wrist. His eyes snapped open and Michael gasped as he saw his surroundings. He could suddenly feel the sand under his feet and hear the sound of the crashing ocean waves ringing in his ears. He wasn't in his room anymore. The sun shone overhead, but the impeding clouds were coming closer, signaling a storm.

Michael hates storms.

A hand was gripped onto his pale wrist, tugging on it relentlessly. The boy in front of him was pulling him across the beach, squealing wildly as the ocean breeze blew his dark hair messily around his blurry face. His brightly colored swim trunks reflected the sunlight, making his skin appear to glow. He looked strangely familiar, like the sun that rose in the sky each day.

"Where are we going?" Michael asked as he stumbled over seaweed and seashells littered around the beach.

"You don't remember? We do this every year," the boy exclaimed, determinedly pushing the two towards a cove surrounded by jagged rocks. It looked recognizable but Michael couldn't recall.

A sharp jolt of pain hit Michael as he took a step closer, making him stop in his tracks. Each footstep made the pain even more intense. The boy was still pulling on his arm, each yank feeling like a bullet going through his head.

"Stop!" Michael screamed, freeing himself from the boy.

The boy cocked his head, staring at Michael with confusion. "Why don't you wanna go?" Crack. A strike of static cut through the boy, his whole body flickering for a mere second. Michael noticed it and backed away.

"Who are you?" Michael questioned. Hurt flashed across the boy's face. Flicker. Static again.

"You don't remember me?" He took a step forward, making Michael step back.

"I don't know you," Michael said slowly.

"Yes, you do. You do know me!" The boy exclaimed. He was constantly flashing in and out of presence, like a broken hologram. A crack of lightning struck the ground next to them and Michael screamed. Dark clouds overhead pelted the two with rain.

"It's all your fault," the boy mumbled. His eyes were now devoid of the warmth he had a few seconds ago. It was replaced with a glint, a glint that Michael did not like. It was a warning sign that flashed: DANGER! DO NOT GO NEAR!

"It's all your fault," the boy said again, his tone more dangerous, louder. "It's all your fault! It's all your fault he's gone!" The boy said, louder than before.

"It's not my fault!" Michael pleaded, "I don't know what you're talking about!" The boy lunged at Michael, wrapping his slender fingers around his neck. Michael struggled to free himself but it was useless. He could feel his airways closing up as he gasped for air.

"It's all your fault!" He screamed, and everything faded away.

"Michael! Michael, are you okay?" A worried voice asked. Michael's eyes snapped open, and he frantically looked around. He took in the band posters and the random articles of clothing strewn around the room. He felt the feeling of his gray bed sheets against his skin and the light streaming in from behind his curtains. The blue-haired boy sighed with relief, this was his room.

It was just a dream. A strange and crazy dream.

His mother stood in front of him, her blonde hair messily put up in a bun and dark bags lying under her eyes. "Christ, I was worried for a second. I was just about to leave for work but I heard you screaming as if you were being murdered!" She smiled softly and brushed Michael's blue hair out of his eyes. "Anyways, it's just about time to get up, so rise and shine!" Michael's mother opened his window curtains, letting the bright sunlight into the room.

"Ugh, mum!" Michael whined as he grabbed his pillow and covered his face with it.

"I'm going to work. You better not be late to school, mister." Michael's mother moved the pillow and pressed a kiss to her son's forehead before leaving the room.

Sometimes Michael has to remind himself to be grateful for his mother. She works long, hard hours to support her son and herself and somehow always has a smile on her face. Michael guesses that's where he got most of his personality from.

Michael decided there was no use in falling back to sleep now, so he decided to get up. His feet slowly padded across the floor as he stumbled sleepily around the house while he got ready for school.

Senior year.

It's the last year that Michael will ever have to go to his horrible high school. It was unusual for Michael to call it horrible since he usually tried to see the bright side of things, but it was indeed, horrible. It was a shitty high school full of shitty people, but that excluded his friends, Luke and Ashton. Michael and they were like the school's little group of misfits. A lot of kids in their school were different, but for some reason people liked to target them. Especially certain people, but Michael didn't like to talk about them.

Just when he finished getting dressed, a buzzing came from Michael's phone and he opened it to read a text from Ashton.

7:45 AM  
Hey, I have my mum's car for today  
Coming to pick you up in a few

7:46 AM  
Oh wait actually we're outside haha whoops :3

Michael rolled his eyes at his best friend's horrible choice of emoticons and quickly checked himself in the mirror before grabbing his backpack and heading towards the front door. A sticky note on it saying "Don't forget to eat something" with a heart on it made him double back to the kitchen and grab a piece of toast left out for him on the counter. He then put on his shoes and walked out the door. A honking noise sounded from a white van that was parked in front of his house. Michael contemplated on whether or not to run back inside the safety of his home and call the police when he realized, this was Ashton's mum's car.

"Get in loser, we're going to hell!" Ashton called out in what Michael thought was a horrible imitation of a white girl's voice. He attempted to flip his hair but his obviously too short sandy blond curls just stayed in place as he missed his hair entirely and ended up slapping the air.

"Wow, I love hell!" Michael cheered, pretending to be excited as he got into the passenger seat of the car.

Luke groaned from his spot in the backseat and rolled over, "I hate everyone."

"That's a nice morning greeting," Michael chuckled as he put his backpack on the floor and turned on the radio.

"I hate you especially. The world is ending and you're here eating toast and being happy." Luke had obviously just rolled out of bed. His blonde hair wasn't styled in the normal way he did it and instead flopped over the side of his face, and his clothes weren't planned into his usual look of "I Wear The Same Clothes As You Do But I Look 10x Better." And because of this, Michael knew that this was one of Luke's drama queen days, which was practically almost every day of the year.

"Here, have my toast." Michael held out the piece of bread towards Luke. The blonde boy immediately sat up in his seat and snatched it out of Michael's hands and stuffing it in his mouth. "Thank you, I love you," Luke beamed with his cheeks full of bread making him rock the chipmunk look.

"Talk about a change of heart," Ashton mumbled as they pulled up in front of their school and parked in a free parking space. The three boys grabbed their backpacks and stepped out of the van, dreading the day ahead of them. They walked through the doors of the school, their sneakers echoing throughout the noisy hallway. They were just about reach their lockers when a boy in a blue letterman jacket walked by and shoved Luke into a wall.

"Oh whoops, sorry," The kid said sarcastically, "Better watch where you're going next time!" The boy laughed as he walked over to his friends who were also laughing with him.

"Fucking snakes," Ashton hissed as he glared at the snickering group of boys. He wrapped a protective arm around Luke and rubbed the blonde's shoulder. "Are you okay?" Ashton asked as he thought of the many ways he could get away with everyone's murders.

"I'm fine. Probably used to it by now," Luke mumbled as he stumbled to his locker, "They're just jealous that they can't ever be as gay as me, right?"

"Exactly," Michael piped up, "They're just a bunch of straight white boys who clench their assholes at the sight and sound of the word 'gay."

"They're probably all secretly sticking each others serpents up their asses anyways," Ashton grumbled as he glared at the banner that said "Go Cloverlea Cobras!" The three boys couldn't help but make snake puns whenever they talked about the horrible people that went to this school.

"Did you hear how they're starting football practice again?" Luke scoffed as the other two boys groaned in unison. "We're all going to die, especially me. And I can't die when I still have to be on Broadway!"

"You're going to be fine, Lucas," Michael said, "Broadway will always wait for you."

"You're starting to sound like Ms. Dupont," Luke grumbled at the sound of his theatre director. The three boys continued to talk more about Luke's Broadway dreams, Ashton's desire to be the best drummer in the world ("But you already are." "Shut up, Michael."), and Michael's ambition to do something worthwhile, when suddenly the first school bell rang.

"Ew, we have math," Luke griped after Michael and he said goodbye to Ashton who had to go to a different class for first period.

"But you like math," Michael chuckled as he pushed his way past the groups of students crowding the halls.

The blonde shot a withering look at his best friend, "Yes, I like math and it's my favorite class, but no. One cannot like math class, it's just- wrong." Michael just rolled his eyes and shook his head as they entered the classroom. Michael took his usual seat in the back of the class with Luke sitting behind him and waited for the bell to ring once again.

The teacher walked to the front of the room and took one of the markers from the whiteboard. "Okay class, we'll be learning about..." And Michael kind of just spaced out after that. His mind drifted off to his thoughts as he wondered about random things and life in general.

His brain suddenly reminded him of the dream (or was it a nightmare?) he had last night. He couldn't really remember what had happened. All he could remember was the beach, a blurry-faced boy, and a storm.

He shivered at the thought of storms; he hates storms. He doesn't mind rain, but if there's lightning and thunder, he automatically shrivels up into a ball and starts crying.

Who was that boy anyway? He couldn't remember what he looked like and he seemed familiar but he's never met him before.

Michael was snapped out of his thoughts as a sharp voice cut across the room.

"Damen! I've had enough of you talking in class, and it's only October!" The teacher exclaimed as she pointed at a red haired boy that Michael knew as the kid that sits next to him who acts like he's literally satan's child. Damen grinned and merely snickered with his friends even though he was obviously in trouble. They were all dressed in blue varsity jackets and Michael couldn't help but roll his eyes, Snakes.

"Maybe if I move you away from your friends, you'll behave better," The teacher huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Damen did a double take, his grin wiped clean off his face. "Wait, what? No, please Ms. Valerie, don't!" He pleaded. Michael and Luke looked at each other and smirked.

Ms. Valerie smiled and looked at her seating chart and thought things over before facing one of the kids sitting in the front row that Michael couldn't see. "Calum, is it okay if I move you to the back?"

"Yes, ma'am- I mean," The boy cleared his throat, "Yeah, whatever."

"There's a Calum in our class? When?" Michael whispered to Luke. The blonde just shrugged and went back to writing down different mathematical equations in his notes. The blue haired boy rolled his eyes, Not liking math my ass. Michael knew a lot of people and a certain someone named Calum never popped up into his head.

Who even has a name called Calum?

All of a sudden the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground and a chair squeaking made Michael jump as he looked to see who he thought to be Calum sitting next to him. Michael glanced at the large backpack that Calum dropped on the floor before taking in the boy who would probably be sitting next to him for the rest of the year.

Michael had to admit, the boy was attractive. He had fluffy charcoal colored hair and deep brown eyes. His big cheeks rounded to a sharp jawline and his blue sweatshirt contrasted nicely against his brown skin. Michael blushed as he realized that he'd been staring at this boy for a while and looked up to find that Calum was staring back too.

The two made eye contact and Calum's eyes widened as he swiftly turned away and started furiously scribbling on his math notes. Michael brushed it off as nothing and tried to pay attention to the teacher for at least the rest of class. He needs to get at least a passing grade.

After the lesson was over, the bell rang and everyone started packing up their stuff. Michael watched as Calum swung his backpack over his shoulder and left the classroom before he could say anything. Damen ran after him, yelling an "Oi, Calum!" as he tried to keep his things from spilling out of his bag. Michael stared at the doorway and was just about to space out again when he felt a sharp pain in his left temple.

Luke flicked Michael's head again and stood in front of the blue haired boy with a frustrated pout on his face. "Michael! God, it's like you're in a coma or something!"

Michael blinked his eyes a few times as if he was refocusing on reality. "Oh sorry, Lucas. Didn't know you were there."

"I was standing right in front of you," The blonde seethed, "Anyways, we gotta go to History. Come on," he grabbed Michael's wrist and tugged him through the hallways, ignoring the poisonous jeers and taunts of their peers.

This happened for the next few classes, with Michael spacing out and Luke having to snap him out of it, and snakes being snakes; just a normal day, really. Calum wasn't in any of Michael's other classes, and Michael figured that was the reason why he never noticed the kid.

The bell rang and finally, it was lunch time. The two boys were reunited with Ashton once again, and Luke updated him on everything that happened in class while they walked to the cafeteria.

("Ms. Jenkins is pregnant!" "How? She doesn't even have a boyfriend!" "Don't question her ways, Lucas.")

"Hey Ash, is there a kid in your class named Calum?" Michael asked as he noticed a familiar boy in a blue sweatshirt pass by. He was talking to a group of snakes; hopefully they don't poison his tea or something.

Ashton thought for a moment and replied, "Calum Hood? Yeah, he's in some of my classes; he's a pretty chill guy. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, it's just-" Michael wondered for a moment, why does he care? "It's just I've never seen him before and suddenly he pops up in my math class, and it's kind of weird."

Luke and Ashton gave each other Looks before facing Michael again. "Well, he is new this year. Heard he moved straight from Port Charlotte, not sure why though," Ashton responded, a sly grin forming on his face. "You got a crush?"

Luke jumped up and down squealed, "Ooh, love at first sight! That's so adorable. I ship it!"

"I do not have a crush, for your information," Michael huffed, "I was just wondering."

"Okay, whatever you say," Luke and Ashton said with a glint in their eyes.

Michael really was just wondering. There was something strange about Calum, and the blue haired boy couldn't put his finger on it. He was strange but familiar; which made it even more strange, and Michael just wanted to finish his senior year in piece with nothing unusual going on. Ashton and Luke talked and giggled while Michael spaced out once again.

What really was unusual was the fact that Luke and Ashton weren't dating.

The three boys walked into the cafeteria. The room was already packed with noisy teenagers and it would be hard to find a seat. Luke went to go save them a table since he brought his own lunch from home. Michael and Ashton got in line to gather the quality food that the school provided.

Michael really loves school lunches and he hopes that everyone appreciates his sarcasm when he says that.

After being served their healthy and delicious food, the two made their way back to the table where Luke sat. Ashton sat next to the blue eyed boy while Michael took his place across from the two.

"Remember when I auditioned for the school play last week?," Luke said after taking a bite out of his sandwich. Crumbs flew everywhere and anyone who's seen him eat has to admit: No matter how graceful Luke Hemmings' dancing is, he is a complete pig when it comes to eating. Michael and Ashton nodded as they tried to force food into their mouths.

"Well... I got the part!" Luke cheered, a huge grin taking up his entire face.

"Wait, what?" Ashton asked, nearly choking on a french fry.

"That's awesome, Lucas!" Michael exclaimed, giving the blonde a lame high-five.

"Oh my god, that's great!" Ashton said as he pulled Luke into a bone-crushing hug and ruffled his hair.

"That's gay!" A random kid shouted as he passed by. Michael, Luke, and Ashton flipped them off, chuckling quietly.

"So you're the prince, right?" Ashton asked.

"Yes, for Cinderella," Luke rolled his eyes, "how original."

"The bright side is that I don't have to build that many props," Michael chimed in.

"Knowing Ms. Dupont she'll probably go all out again." Luke grimaced. A silence fell over them  
as they remembered the excess amount of glitter used in last year's play. Luke ended up having glitter in his hair for an entire month and Ashton liked joking about how it was "sparkly dandruff." The blue eyed boy would then always say he was just "shedding his extra gayness."

Luke looked over Michael's shoulder and said, "I guess the football team is officially back together." Michael turned around and looked at the table that was surrounded by a bunch of blue jackets.

"Wow, just the right time for hell to officially open up!" Ashton sarcastically cheered and did a weak fist pump.

"Well maybe they've matured since last year, you never know," Michael hopefully mumbled.

Ashton raised an eyebrow at the blue haired boy, making Michael shrink back into his seat as if he was a child being scolded. "Not fucking likely," The curly haired boy growled as he glared at the table across from them. The snakes were suddenly whooping and hollering as if they had already won a tournament.

Michael looked at Ashton and to the other table and sighed, "I'm gonna go throw my food away, be right back." He then got out of his seat and carried his lunch tray to the trash can.

He had just thrown the last of his lunch away and was about to walk back to his table when something warm and wet was spilled onto his front. Tomato sauce soaked into his white t-shirt and noodles were just barely clinging to the fabric. Michael looked up in shock and was met with familiar brown eyes.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Calum's face contorted into a sneer, it seeming unnatural on his face. "Thanks for spilling my food, f-faggot," The boy mocked, but anyone who was watching could tell that he purposely dropped his food onto Michael. Calum walked away, with the football team cheering him on and slapping his back approvingly.

Michael was left in the middle of the cafeteria with tomato sauce dripping down his shirt that was almost as red as his humiliated face. He could hear people around him laughing and he knew that he should leave but it felt like his feet grew roots and he was stuck in place. The world became blurry and Michael couldn't tell if it was because of tears or just his mind fucking everything up. He felt a tug on both of his sleeves and suddenly he was being led out of the lunchroom. His mind didn't focus until he heard the sound of rushing water.

Is that... the ocean?

Michael turned his head and saw Luke soaking a paper towel in the sink. That was clearly not the ocean. The blonde started wiping spaghetti off of Michael's shirt which was obviously already stained. Ashton was pacing crazily around the room, muttering curse words under his breath. "Fucking snakes! I should've known he was one, he was wearing that fucking blue sweatshirt! I'm going to fucking kill him, that bitch!"

"Ashton, calm down," Luke whispered, afraid someone was going to come in while Ashton was still raging.

They must really regret shipping Michael and Calum together now.

"I'm going to kick that ching chong back to China! Or wherever he came from!" Ashton yelled, trying to prevent himself from putting a dent in the bathroom door.

"Hey, don't say that," Michael mumbled.

"I thought you were angry at Calum too," Ashton asked angrily, "Why are you defending him?"

"I'm not. It's just- that's racist," Michael shrugged.

"Oh... yeah, sorry." Ashton went quiet and looked down at his shoes. He then gave the blue haired boy his jacket, looking ashamed of himself. Michael put it on, glad he could have something to cover up his stained shirt. He looked like someone spilled period blood all over him.

Luke sighed, "I hate everyone."

"Tell me about it," Michael and Ashton said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't updated! I was on vacation for a week and haven't got the chance to post until now so I hope you like it! :-)

Michael likes walking to school.

He isn’t sure why, but he just… _does._

He could take a ride from Ashton or Luke, but Ashton’s mum needed the van for today and Luke’s mum kind of scares him. So here Michael was, walking the short 10 minute walk from his house to school.

It was fun actually, with some of the Halloween decorations already set up in front of his neighbor’s houses. Bushes were covered in fake cobwebs, and different kinds of patterns of bats, witches, and pumpkins were already arranged outside.

Soon the houses faded out of view and Cloverlea Highschool appeared in front of him. Michael made his way past the front doors with no trouble at all. 

In fact, he even managed to get more than halfway to his lockers without anyone being an asshole; And then someone ran out of nowhere and literally rebounded off of him. Michael wasn’t joking, the kid had bumped into him and flew onto the ground about a foot away. 

“Oh shit, are you okay?” Michael asked rushing towards the boy who was lying on the ground. He picked up the glasses lying on the floor and handed to him. The boy quietly thanked him and pushed his dark hair out of his eyes before putting his glasses back on. 

He kind of looked like Calum, except paler… and not Calum. With Michael’s help, he stood up and gathered his things off the ground. 

The boy was very short; he must have been no taller than five feet. He steadied his glasses and looked up, his forest green eyes widening when he realized who he had just bumped into. 

“Oh um, M-Michael! I-I’m very sorry for b-bumping into you,” The boy stuttered and tugged at the collar of his orange sweater. “I’ll just get going now, bye!” And before Michael could say anything the kid scurried away, backpack nearly sliding off his shoulders. 

Michael had never seen that kid in his entire life. How did he even know Michael’s name? 

The blue haired boy just shrugged and continued walking to his locker. When he reached it, he noticed a big plastic bag taped to his locker. Michael wasn’t sure if this was a prank or not, but when he looked inside to see if it was a stink bomb or something, he saw a pile of candy lying there. 

And it wasn’t any type of candy, it was his favorite: Starbursts. 

Michael gasped and squealed with delight as he quickly took the bag and grabbed a handful of candies. He looked up and quietly whispered, “Thank you, god,” before unraveling a red Starburst from its wrapping.

“Who gave you all the candy?” Ashton asked as he walked over with Luke by his side. 

“Oh my god, they’re Starbursts!” Luke exclaimed, making grabby hands towards the bag of candy Michael was holding. “Can I have one?” 

“Sure.” Michael gave the blonde a few yellow Starbursts, a mischievous smirk creeping onto his face when Luke complained about how he hated that flavor. 

Ashton took the liberty of getting the candy himself before Michael could give him some yellow ones too. “So how did you get all of this?” He motioned towards the Starbursts that the blue haired boy was currently stuffing in his mouth.

“I don’t know, someone just taped it to my locker and I was like, ‘oh, free candy!” Michael explained.

Luke choked, almost spitting the candy out of his mouth. “Wait, so you just found it here? What if it was poisoned or something?”

Michael rolled his eyes, “Only a monster would poison a bag full of sweets.”

“B-But…” The younger boy stuttered.

“Go eat your candy, Lucas”

Luke’s shoulders slumped and he continued to eat his Starbursts while attempting to angrily pout at the same time (it was not working very well.)

“I really wonder who decided to give you this, though,” Ashton mumbled.

“Maybe it’s from Andrea?” Luke wondered.

Michael laughed, “Of course not, she’s lesbian, dude.”

“And you’re gay,” Ashton chimed.

“For your information,” Michael scoffed, “I’m bisexual.”

The hazel eyed boy slyly smiled, “Not according to your web history. Damn, the amount of gay por-“

“How about that kid that always stares at you in Chemistry?” Luke interrupted before Ashton could finish his sentence.

Michael ignored the fact that Ashton was about to reveal the darkest parts of himself and looked at Luke with confusion, “What kid?”

Luke sighed, “You know, dark haired, short-“

“Calum?” Michael scoffed, “Calum’s not even in my biology cla-“

“No, not Calum, you dolt! Why would he give you candy anyways?” Ashton huffed, flicking Michael’s head, “The kid’s a junior and wears glasses. Asian, too.”

Luke jumped excitedly, “Oh, he’s that kid that’s named after an herb! His name is-” He took a pause and suddenly deflated, “I don’t remember,” He muttered. Ashton patted the blonde’s head comfortingly.

“Rosemary?” Michael cocked his head. Ashton and Luke looked at each other with exasperation and sighed, both thinking, _Who the fuck names their son Rosemary?_

“Never mind, Mike. It’s probably not him.” Ashton said with a tight smile.

“Hey, maybe a snake felt bad for him and gave him candy.” Luke stated seriously. Everyone stood there in silence, looking at each other with blank stares before bursting out laughing. 

“Good one, Lucas,” Michael patted the blonde’s back as they walked to their first class. Ashton said he’d meet up with them at lunch.

Math was uneventful.

The second Michael sat down, Calum started looking at him like a hurt puppy. Who’s the hurt one here? Calum? Definitely not. The blue haired boy rolled his eyes and ignored him, choosing to actually focus in class for once. He actually understood the lesson today and he was proud of himself.

Michael was glad that lunch was just, well- lunch. He preferred keeping his food on his plate and not on his clothes. No one bothered him or his friends the whole time and everyone was happy.. 

School continued with the same old classes; and as the bell rang, showing that their history class had ended, the trio’s moods suddenly plummeted into the ground

“God, we have P.E. next!” Luke groaned as they walked through the halls to the locker rooms. “Why do we even have to do this anymore? We’re seniors, the fuck?” 

“It’s not that bad,” Ashton said.

Luke glared at him, “At least you’re not the last to be chosen because no one wants the gay theatre kid on their team.”

Ashton suddenly felt bad. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, wrapping an arm around the blue eyed boy’s waist and pressing a kiss to his temple. Luke leaned into the touch and started to relax.

“Are you sure you guys aren’t dating?” Michael asked, nonchalantly eating a Starburst.

The two boys quickly jumped apart. “What? No!” Luke exclaimed as he looked at the blue haired boy with horror.

Ashton defensively crossed his arms. “I’m straight, remember?” He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“You are?” Michael said in a bored voice, “huh.” 

Ashton huffed, “I am not gay. I wouldn’t date Lu-“

“Nice,” Michael deadpanned. He turned towards Luke and held out a pink Starburst. “Want one?” The blonde nodded while staring at Michael with a strange look on his face.

Ashton looked like he was about to emotionally combust with the amount of self-discipline he had to use to stop himself from ranting about how straight he is. 

The toxic smell of hyper-masculinity flooded the boys’ nostrils as they walked into the locker room. They were fortunately one of the first ones there, so they didn’t have to deal with taunts of the others who would soon walk in. 

Ashton didn’t have to worry much, since he was very toned. Michael and Luke were a different story. Michael had a little tummy and Luke was just terribly insecure of his body no matter how confident and sassy he acted. 

As more people flooded into the room, the three boys scooted into a corner and started quickly changing. Soon the group of football players walked into the room being the rowdy bunch they were. The volume level seemed to increase by 100 decibels the second they started talking (or screaming, as Michael thought it sounded like.)

“What’s that?” A voice that Michael recognized as Damen, asked in a disgusted tone. Michael raised his head to look at the scene that was going on near him. 

“What’s what?” Calum replied in a tone that only Michael and his friends recognized. He was trying to pass something off as nothing but the slight tremble in his voice told them otherwise.

“This, goddammit!” Damen reached out and grabbed the necklace that was hidden underneath Calum’s shirt. 

Calum tensed as everyone stared at him with judging looks, brown eyes widening slightly. “This? I-It’s nothing!” He nervously said.

A boy named Lawrence stepped forward and looked closer at the necklace before snickering, “That’s so fucking gay, damn!”

“It’s just a necklace!” Calum tried to reassure them but telling by the look on his face, Michael could see it was something more than just a necklace. 

“A pearl necklace with a fucking angel wing on it, if you didn’t know,” Damen sneered, the boys behind him nodding with agreement. 

Calum suddenly changed his stance and put his guard up. “Well my stupid mother thinks it some kind of shitty good luck charm, bullshit to be honest,” He glared. 

Damen looked taken aback by the sudden change of attitude Calum made and cleared his throat. “Well, you wouldn’t mind throwing it away, wouldn’t you?” He challenged, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course not,” Calum scoffed as he took it off and tossed it in the trash with only a slight hesitation. 

Damen nodded with approval, “Well, let’s get to the gym!” The group of snakes cheered and all walked out.

When everyone was gone except Luke and Ashton, Michael walked to the trash can and picked up the necklace. It was a pretty necklace and he could see why Calum was being made fun of for it.

The necklace had a thin golden chain, and hanging off of it was a beautiful pearl and an amber angel wing. Michael shoved it in his pocket and ignored Luke and Ashton’s questioning looks as they walked to the gym. 

When they arrived there, they sat on one of the bleachers and waited for the coach to tell them what they were doing today. 

“Okay, so today we’re going to do basketball. Mostly because we have nothing better to do,” Coach Bautista announced with a tired voice. “Don’t fuck up and you’ll be fine. Lawrence and Damen, pick your teams.” 

The woman then walked to the other side of the court and started texting someone (probably her girlfriend) on her phone. 

Coach Bautista may seem like she doesn’t doesn’t care, but mess with her, and you’ll have probably have to do two laps around the football field. Most kids learned that in the first year of school.

Michael liked her; she was pretty chill and always made sure that he and his friends weren’t getting attacked on a daily basis. 

Damen and Lawrence started picking teams, and of course, the ones on the football team got picked first. As time went by, less and less people were left over until it was only Michael, Ashton, Luke and… Calum? 

Michael figured this was everyone’s revenge on him just for wearing a necklace. But obviously, Calum was chosen before the rest of them by Damen, because it would be embarrassing not to. 

Lawrence chose Ashton because _who wouldn’t want those biceps?_ And also when Ashton put his mind to it, he was an excellent team player and no one could deny it. 

Now only Michael and Luke were left. “You’re gonna be picked first,” Luke whispered knowingly. 

“What? No,” the blue haired boy answered, but as soon as he uttered those words, Damen called out his name and he had to guiltily leave the blonde’s side. Lawrence then reluctantly picked Luke and Michael sadly realized the boy was right; no one wants the gay theatre kid on their team.

Soon the coach blew her whistle and the game started. After the tip-off, everyone scrambled for the ball. Ashton, Luke, and Michael stood off to the side and watched their teammates struggle, not really wanting to participate in the sport. Coach Bautista didn’t really care as long as no one was getting hurt. 

Michael looked over and noticed that Calum wasn’t playing the game either. Every time the ball changed possession the brown eyed boy would slowly follow the rest of the kids chasing after it. Michael figured that he wasn’t much of a basketball guy. 

“Hey, Michael!” Damen called out. He turned around and before the blue haired boy could respond, something big and orange hit him straight in the face.

Michael fell backwards and hit the ground with a loud “thump”. He put his hand up to his throbbing nose and felt something warm and wet. When he pulled back, he realized it was blood. 

Luke and Ashton rushed to his side and started asking rhetorical questions like, “Are you okay?” that made Michael want to roll his eyes out of their sockets. Of course he wasn’t okay, his nose was fucking bleeding. At least they handed him some tissues.

Coach Bautista blew her whistle, making everyone freeze in place. “Who the fuck just did that?” she questioned. The room was silent as her cold eyes scanned over each boys’ face. When she didn’t get an answer, she repeated, “I said, who threw that ball?”

Michael looked over to see Damen whispering into Calum’s ear. Calum was mouthing “no” and shaking his head, but after a few more threatening glares and persuasive whispers, the brown skinned boy spoke up.

“It was m-me.” Calum cleared his throat nervously, “I did it.”

The coach raised an eyebrow, not really believing him, but not mentioning it. “Well, Calum, please take Michael and his things to the nurse’s office, and make sure that he doesn’t bleed everywhere.” the dark haired boy was just about to sigh with relief when she added, “also you have detention for the next three days, sorry.” 

Calum’s shoulders slumped and he nodded before heading towards the locker room. Michael trailed after him, making sure to put pressure on his nose. When he got there, he noticed Calum was already carrying his backpack and the two began silently and awkwardly walking through the halls of the school. 

Multiple times Calum opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but quickly shut it and turned away, a blush settling on his cheeks. Michael just smiled and shoved the hand that wasn’t holding tissues into his pocket. He heard metal clink and furrowed his eyebrows with confusion before remembering that he had Calum’s necklace.

“Um, so I’m thinking this is probably yours?” The blue haired boy said as he pulled the long chain out of his pocket. Calum eyes widened as he realized what it was. Michael carefully placed it in his palm and the boy quickly took it and latched it around his neck. He smiled as he felt the familiar grooves of the angel wing brush against his fingertips. 

“I, uh, thank you,” Calum mumbled, not exactly meeting Michael’s eyes. He could feel the guilt swirling around, creating a tornado in his gut. 

The two stood outside the nurse’s office, awkwardly gazing at each other and not knowing what to do. “Thanks for walking me here, I guess,” Michael scratched the back of his neck, flashing Calum a grin. 

Calum focused on his necklace, twirling the pendant around his neck. “I’m sor-“ He choked out, but when he looked up, Michael was already gone. He shook his head and turned around, walking back to class.

The second Michael stepped into the office, the nurse screamed and started fretting over the blood staining his hands. The blue haired boy chuckled and allowed the lady to lead him to the sink and have him wash his hands three times.

Finally, she pressed an ice pack into his hand and forced him to sit on one of the cots. No matter how many times the boy said he was fine the nurse told him he had to stay for the rest of the period. 

Michael sighed and leaned back, wondering how bad things always happen to him. He thought about the way Calum smiled when he had the necklace; it must be pretty special to him. It looked so familiar, Michael couldn’t put his finger on it.

He heard a cough and noticed a boy lying in the cot next him. It was that kid from earlier, the one named after an herb? “What are you in for?” Michael asked.

The boy startled in his place and turned his head, forest eyes meeting emerald ones. “I, um, fainted,” He mumbled, “You?”

“Some bastard threw a basketball at me,” Michael snorted, “just a normal day in the life.”

The boy chuckled, a small smile forming on his face. “I know you probably don’t my name, but I’m Basil.”

 _Basil,_ Michael thought, _it was better than Rosemary at least._

“I guess I’ll see you around,” he grinned when the bell rang as he waved goodbye to Basil. A blush coated the boy’s cheeks and he waved back. 

The second Michael stepped out of the room, he was ambushed by two pairs of arms wrapping around him. A chorus of We Were So Worried’s and Are You Okay’s rang through his ears, voiced by Luke and Ashton. They cuddled him and smothered him until Michael had finally managed to push them off. 

“I’m fine! I’m fine! The nurse overreacted, like usual,” Michael told them, “Anyways, tell me what happened when I was gone.” 

“Well, everyone continued playing basketball,” Luke said boredly, “and then Calum came back and sat out the whole time.” Michael nodded, stretching his arms over his head. The blonde’s blue eyes scanned over him, “You’re still in your uniform?” he wondered, “Eh, doesn’t matter, school’s already over.”

Ashton raised an eyebrow when Michael took candy out of his backpack, “You still have that? I’m surprised you haven’t finished it yet, you’ve been eating it all day.”

“It’s my fave,” Michael smiled, popping a red Starburst into his mouth. The three boys stepped out of the school, the autumn breeze brushing against their skin. A blue car pulled up in front of them and honked, startling everyone. 

“Oh, that’s my mum,” Luke mumbled, “Ashton, you’re coming too, right?” The hazel eyed boy nodded. “How about you, Michael?”

“It’s okay, I’ll just walk,” Michael reassured him. 

“Well, okay,” Luke shrugged. He jumped when he heard another honk. “Come on Ashton, we gotta go! Bye Michael!” The blonde grabbed Ashton’s hand and ran towards the car, laughing cheerfully. Michael watched as they got in and drove away, shaking his head slightly.

He turned around and started walking down the same path he walked that morning, but this time in the opposite direction. 

He reached into his bag to get some more candy, but realized it was empty. He must have eaten it all. Michael sighed and shoved his hands into his pocket. 

_Oh well, good things never last anyways._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow my tumblr! [ Insxnebxnds ](insxnebxnds.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter 3

Michael opened his eyes and his senses were suddenly flooded with his surroundings. He was sitting on a plush blue sofa that he was practically sinking down into.

The room was filled with sunlight streaming from the windows and the sound of seagulls were echoing in the background. He looked to his left and was surprised when he found… _himself?_

The boy sitting next to Michael was indeed himself, but he still had his natural sandy blonde hair and more chub than he remembered. The kid must have been around seven years old.

He was also wearing brightly colored clothes, unlike the dark colors that Michael in the present wore. He held a Nintendo DS in his tiny hands, eyes glaring at the screen. The kid was so busy playing video games that he barely heard the voice calling his name.

“Michael you’ve been inside all day! Why don’t you go outside? Maybe play at the beach or something?” Both Michaels turned their heads and faced their mother.

The blue haired boy felt a tinge of sadness as he looked at her. She looked much younger; she didn’t have the bags resting under her eyes or the worry lines etched into her face. She was glowing. His mother has never been that happy since the accident. 

Mike (Michael preferred to call his younger self ‘Mike’ since it was quite confusing) rolled his eyes, “I don’t want to go outside! I want to get the badge for this Pokemon gym!” he whined, “Plus, I hate the beach! Why do we have to be here?” 

“I’ve already told you, your grandparents want to spend time with you,” his mother said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Come on, while there’s still daylight.” 

Mike simply pouted and continued playing until his mother shot him a reproachful look, making him groan and shut down his game. “Fine.” He walked to the door and slipped flip-flops onto his feet. 

“Bye, mum!” he called as he placed a Mickey Mouse baseball cap on his head.

“Be safe!” She nagged.

“I will,” Mike rolled his eyes as he stepped outside. Michael followed after him, noticing that the house was sitting right on the beach. 

He didn’t remember ever visiting his grandparents house, or that they lived by the beach. Actually, he doesn’t remember any of these events even happening.

_Strange._

Michael watched his younger self stomp around and kick the sand, muttering about how he just wants to evolve his magikarp. The blue haired boy chuckled. His obsession with Pokemon went this far back. 

Mike suddenly plopped down on the sand and started digging a hole, whining every time water would fill it up and wash all of his hard work away.

The kid was just about to dig the same hole for the tenth time when a commotion was heard a little further down the beach. 

Both Michaels looked over to see a small group of kids crowded in a circle. All of them were yelling about something, and neither boys knew what it was about. 

Mike stood up and brushed sand off his bright blue shorts before carefully walking towards the group. When he was closer, he could see that the kids were actually a group of 10 year old boys.

(And Michael had to admit, back then 10 year olds were scary.) 

All of them were circled around something- or someone- but Mike couldn’t see. 

“Just give it to me, loser!” A boy spat at someone. A smacking noise and a tiny yelp echoed through the midst of the circle.

“No, leave me alone!” A small voice cried, and Michael knew someone was in trouble.

Apparently Mike knew that too, as he rushed up to the nearest boy and roughly shoved him. 

“Hey, leave them alone!” He yelled, trying to be intimidating but sadly failing. The group spread out a little and both Michaels could finally see what they were surrounding.

A little boy with brown skin was curled up in a ball, dark hair falling over his face. He was trembling and clutching something to his chest. 

Michael’s chest tightened with worry and he had no idea why. He’s never seen this kid but it feels like he’s known him his whole life.

“Wow, we’ve got another tiny guppy over here. Trying to protect your precious little clam, huh?” one of the bullies snickered. 

They all towered over Mike, finding it funny how a little boy was trying to stand up them.

Mike glared at them, and picked up a random stone from the ground. “Go!“ he swung back his arm, “Away!” the rock flew from his grasp as he yelled and hit a kid right between the eyes. 

The boy looked at Mike with a mix of horror and shock before he ran away, fearing another painful blow to the head. 

Michael silently applauded his younger self for being a badass as the other 10 year old children also got scared and ran away before Mike could pick up another stone. 

Once the bullies were gone, Mike turned towards the little boy curled up on the ground. He crouched down and poked the kid in the side, making him jump.

“Hey, it’s okay, they’re gone now. You can open your eyes,” Mike mumbled, trying to comfort him somehow. 

The little boy looked up and Michael strained his eyes to see his face, but everything was blurred. All he could see was a trace of a bruise starting to form on his tear-stained cheeks. 

Mike gasped when he saw the mark and quickly grabbed the dark haired boy’s face, gazing at it curiously.

“Woah, what happened to you? You face looks like my knee when I fall on the ground and then it turns all purple and yucky and I cry but my mum kisses it and then I feel better and yeah!” Mike rambled, getting way too excited about a bruise. 

“W-Well,” the boy sniffled, “my m-mummy gave me candy and t-told me to go play outside, and then I did. B-B-But then those meanies came over and wanted my peach rings and I said they couldn’t have it because my mummy gave them to me and then they g-got really angry and smacked me r-right here,” he pointed to his cheek, “A-A-And it still hurts! R-really b-b-bad!” 

The boy started crying and the excited smile was instantly wiped off of Mike’s face. “Oh no! Please don’t cry! Uh, um, what do I do? What do I do?”

He started panicking and was on the verge of crying too when he realized. “Oh! My mum says kisses always make it feel better?” 

Hearing this, the brown boy stopped sobbing and looked at Mike, “R-Really?”

Mike grinned and nodded, “Yeah!”

“Th-That’s great but-“ the little boys face crumpled and he started wailing again, “I don’t have anyone to k-kiss me though!”

Mike really wanted the boy to stop crying, because if someone starts crying, he’ll start crying too. “Wait, I’ll kiss you!” He said desperately.

The boy’s sobbing immediately came to a halt and a smile formed on his face, “R-Really?” he asked again.

“Yeah!” Mike enthusiastically repeated.

“Yay!” the boy cheered. Both of the seven year olds were grinning like idiots even though they were practically wailing less than a minute ago.

_Michael figured this is why people dislike children._

“Okay, here I go!” Mike called as he leaned in. He pressed a short peck to the boy’s cheek before pulling away. 

The dark haired boy looked confused for a moment before pouting, “It didn’t work. You lied!”

“What! I did not!” Mike huffed, “You just need more!” He grabbed the boy’s face and roughly peppered kisses all over his chubby cheeks before letting go.

The boy sat in a daze for a few moments before a grin slowly creeped onto his face. “You’re right! It did work!” The two seven year olds beamed at each other.

“So, what’s your name?” Mike asked giddily after a few seconds of silence.

“I can’t tell you! My mummy said I can’t tell my name to strangers or else they will find me and give me bad candy.” The boy answered. 

“Fine, since your mummy said so,” Mike huffed, “I’ll just call you…” he looked up and down at the boy before focusing on the bag of candy still clutched in his arms. “I’ll call you Sweets! Peach! Sweet Peach!” Mike cheered, proud of himself for making up such a clever name. 

“Yeah! That’s such a cool name!” Sweets exclaimed. “And I’ll call you… Mickey!” he said, pointing to the Mickey Mouse hat on Mike’s head.

“Yay!” The two hugged each other tight. “We’re going to be best friends, aren’t we?” Mickey asked.

“The bestest of friends!” Sweets assured him.

“Well, come on, Peach! Let’s dig a hole in the sand!” Mickey yelled as he grabbed the brown boy’s hand and tugged him across the sand. 

“Yeah!” he cheered.

Michael smiled as he watched the two, everything slowly fading away from his vision. 

There was darkness and silence until the sound of an alarm woke him from his sleep. He opened his eyes and looked around with confusion. 

_Was that a dream or reality?_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment what you think or leave a kudos :-)
> 
> Tumblr:[insxnebxnds](www.insxnebxnds.tumblr.com)


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